A sequence in an intron of the human HLA-DP beta 1 gene was identified by its homology to the gene encoding ribosomal protein L32 (rpL32). It lacked introns indicating that it was derived from a processed rpL32 mRNA transcript. A human cDNA clone encoding rpL32 was isolated and compared to this human pseudogene and to several related mouse sequences, one of which is contained in an intron of the murine dihydrofolate reductase gene. Comparison of these sequences revealed that they were more related within species than between, suggesting that they became inserted in the genome after man and mouse diverged.